FAREWELL TO FALL 2010

Autumn is drawing to a close and the first Sunday of Advent is here.  It was a lovely fall, full of color and light, and a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I love the rich red and orange of this tree.

Cabbages in a garden, all trussed up and ready to harvest.  It is the season for making kimchi, so I think that these cabbages are destined for marinating in red pepper sauce so they can be eaten all winter long.

Haystacks - made from the rice grass left after the rice was harvested.

Layden serving soldiers at the mess hall.  Just about every Thanksgiving, he puts on his dress uniform and participates in making sure the soldiers get a tasty meal.  It is a good spread - Thanksgiving dinner is the showcase meal for the mess hall and they put their best efforts into it.  This year there was roast beef, ham, shrimp, of course turkey, stuffing, all sorts of things like sweet potatoes and beans and cranberries, and lots of pie.  Layden really enjoys this military tradition.

We had a similar meal at our house with several people who really enjoyed a home-cooked meal and good company.  It was a great day.

It is hard to imagine that fall went so quickly, but it did.

Wishing all of you a very merry Christmas season.

GIVING THANKS

Today is Thanksgiving Day at our house.  The "real" story of that event is probably more complex and not as straightforward as the cherished traditional story of the Pilgrims and the Indians and the feast with the turkey, but that's ok - it is a good story, and one that holds forth notions of gratitude, cooperation, and sharing, which I think are good notions to have.  However, I think sometimes it is a wise idea to look at things more closely.  A few years ago, we had the chance to visit Jamestown, Virginia.  I know that this is not where the "First Thanksgiving" took place, but it has a lot in common with Plymouth and it made me realize a number of things. 

 For example, the seeds, nuts and corn in this wooden bowl were probably not the stuff that early colonists were used to eating.  But, it was nourishing and sustained life, and they were grateful for it, and for those Indians that taught them how to cultivate and prepare it.  Over here in Korea I get lots of chances to eat things I am not used to eating.  Sometimes they are yummy and sometimes not - eating here can be an adventure.  But I am blessed with a commissary that has many of  the things I want to eat on Thanksgiving - like a turkey, which the Koreans do not eat.  So I am grateful.

These are replicas of ships that were a lot like the Mayflower.  They were interesting to visit, and seemed kind of complcated to sail.  They also seemed really SMALL, especially when I compared them to the Atlantic ocean, which is so BIG.  I can't imagine sailing all the way from England to the eastern seaboard on such a tiny and rather uncomfortable ship.  Makes me grateful for my car.  Glad that I didn't have to come to Korea by boat.  Less inclined to complain about air travel.

These are replicas of houses.  They look quaint and charming, but they are small and kind of dark.  They have no electricity, no running water, and one fireplace for heat and cooking. Preparing a feast in such conditions must have been hard work - REALLY hard work.  I am glad I don't have to do that.  I may have a very tiny oven, but at least I have one.  I have cold AND hot water that runs from a tap in my kitchen - and my 2 bathrooms.  My home is warm, thanks to the radiant floor heat which is the standard here in Korea and which keeps me comfortable and cozy all winter.

This is a rendering of the original fort.  It looks so small, and the only thing that would have been behind it is trees and in front of it, water.  It was far away from everything familiar.  There were all sorts of "unknowns" that these brave early settlers faced.  Sending a letter was a challenging endeavor.  I, too, am far away from "home" and from people I love.  But I can call them on the telephone, see them and correspond over the internet, and read their blogs.  I can even send a letter.  I am grateful for that. 

And in these times of uncertainty, with its own set of  unknowns, I am grateful for the family and friends that love me, care about me and make the effort to stay in touch.  I am grateful to be married to a man who is a good husband and a caring father, and who is generous in his service to this wonderful country.  I have many choice blessings for which I am truly grateful.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

BANJO BOY

This past weekend we joined with a local Korean church congregation for a Music Night.  There was a lot to listen to, from lovely piano solos to modern karaoke singing.  A few of the most popular numbers are as follows:

The traditional Korean song Arirang, sung by Korean and American children together and accompanied on the xylophone.  In Korea, the xylophone is a standard instrument for school children.

A lovely performance on the gayageum, a very traditional Korean stringed instrument. The short video below does not do the sound quality any justice, but it does give an idea of what this instrument sounds like.

And most exciting for us - and very exciting for the Koreans too - Layden had his debut banjo performance! Layden and a missionary from our church, Elder Fred Thompson, sang "The Old Rugged Cross" to Layden's banjo accompaniment. Once again, the video sound isn't great, but it is still fun.

The Koreans loved it!  They thought the banjo was a pretty exotic instrument.  I thought Layden was pretty brave to get up there when he has only had his banjo for one week.  Maybe the fact that he still looks good in "skinny jeans" has something to do with his confidence level.  Or maybe...

...it is his genuine stingray boots - check them out!

All in all it was a delightful evening, and who knows?  Maybe this darling little Korean girl will grow up to play the banjo some day - she just about has the hand position figured out.

AT LONG LAST!

Back on-line after a lovely trip to the USA, followed by a glitch in the blog that wouldn't let me update.  That issue seems to be resolved at the moment, so I will pedal as fast as I can to catch up!

Our trip to the States was partly business for Layden, and mostly family.  If you don't want family pictures, stop reading here, because that seems to be all the pictures I took in 4 states in 3 weeks.  I always seemed to be holding a baby or someone's hand, which was great for my heart but not so great for picture-taking. Our first stop - Colorado.  This is my brother and his son Jacob.  It was Jacob's birthday while we were there.  His gifts - combat-style boots and a life-size stuffed Emperor penguin.  He loves birds and his current project is to memorize the all the state birds - a good project for a 4th grader. 

Next state - Texas, to visit son Stephen and his family, including new granddaughter Cortlynn who was born in July this year.  Layden was able to participate in her baby blessing, which was a real joy for him.  It was a great day - in addition to the blessing, Bethany and Stephen made fabulous brisket with all the fixin's to feed ALL the people that showed up. 

Four-generation picture - my Mom, me, Stephen and Cortlynn.  We really enjoyed our time in Texas.  Stephen has a great new house which Bethany has turned into a lovely home - those two are a good team.  My Mom had loads of fun being the great-grandmother.  That was such a mouthful that Colton and Cammon quickly shortened her title to G-G-Ma.She likes that just fine.

Next stop - Boise, Idaho.  Layden's brother Zane and his family live there, and Layden's mother just moved there from San Jose.  We had never been to Boise before and we quite liked it - probably becasuse we got to see it through the eyes of Zane and Heather, who have two great kids, a fabulous backyard, a darling house, and neighbors that they know.  Heather and I would be friends even if we weren't related and we love sharing the world through each other's eyes - she is my vicarious stability and I her wanderlust.  Layden got to do two really fun things in Idaho:

1) He was "Show and Tell" for nephew Wilson's 2nd grade class.  He went in his dress uniform, which was very impressive for everyone and prompted serious reflective questions such as, "Will you put on your hat?" and "Will you take off your jacket?" and "Why do you have all that stuff all over your coat?"  In addition to answering these probing inquiries, he was also able to talk about the need to treat people like people and not like objects, and to think about how much that would help make peace in the world.

2) Layden got a banjo!  He has been wanting one for some time now, and has done his research and knew exactly what he wanted, so when he saw this banjo in the local music store for a  good price he bought it.  He got one lesson from a banjo pro over the phone, and didn't even wait to take the tags off before he started right in playing.  I am looking forward to hearing a lot more bluegrass music!

Next on the agenda was Utah, where Layden, as an LDS Chaplain, annually attends General Conference and a special Chaplain seminar.  Stephen and family drove all the way up from Texas to join us for the week, which gave Layden a chance to take Colton to his first live Conference session -it was quite a treat for the two of them.  In addition to official duties, we had some time to connect with family and friends.

Stephen had a birthday and we had a party for him at my friend Sue's house.  It is an annual tradition for us to get together for her terriffic lasagna.  This year she added cake and ice cream.  We all had fun.

We had dinner with Layden's stepmom Doris, who recently moved here from Washington state. 

We had lunch with SergeantMajor(Ret) Tidwell and his wife.  This good man was a key support in helping Layden achieve his military and educational goals that allowed him to be commissioned as a Chaplain.

We had dinner with family friend Cynthia, who is a Blackhawk pilot and knew Stephen when he was Colton's age.  She enjoyed seeing him as a Dad and remembering how he could always talk her into playing a Star Trek board game whenever she came to visit.

We got to see Layden's cousin Kim.  These two have been good friends most of their lives, and even though they don't get to see each other often, they stay in touch.

Cammon and Colton at Gardner Village, a fun place in Salt Lake that has interesting shops, good restaurants, and was decorated for autumn Halloween.   Cammon loved this Pumpkin House.

He was also thouroughly enchanted by the Main Street trolley in Park City, so of course we all rode on it.  He was thrilled!

Cammon and Grandpa on the trolley.

Bethany, Cortlynn, and Colt.  I was really impressed with Bethany - 2 active boys and an infant and she was organized and enthusiastic the whole time.  Like I said, she and Stephen are a good team.  And don't they have darling children?

Our last couple of days, we stayed with our good family friends, the Nelsons.  It was so nice to be out of a hotel and in a real house.  Cammon really liked their sweet dog, Kaya.  She is bigger than he is, but he wasn't intimidated in the least.  Thanks Jack, Pat and family for beign so hospitable, and for taking us to breakfast at Joe's Cafe - we will all remember that place with smiles on our faces!

I love this picture of Colton at the bookstore.  He is reading a book about a boy who got a truly awful sweater hand-knit by his grandmother.  This sweater posed quite a dilemma for the boy until he realized that the sweater represented all the things that his grandmother loved about him and about being with him.  He decided it was a pretty neat sweater after all.  A good book for Colton, as I am sure he, along with other "grands" in the family, have or will get some strange thing hand knit by Grandma...